A manipulator is known for handling flat objects like small metal, glass, or plastic-film sheets and having a magazine for holding a stack of the objects and a grab for removing them one at a time from the stack in the magazine and putting them in position on something.
Such an apparatus having a plurality of actuator cylinders and rubber suction heads that are lowered onto a flat object and, after suction has been applied, lift the flat object and transfer it to the desired location are known in particular in the field of stackers, in particular of stacked layers between which intermediate layers have to be deposited. See, for example, DD 229 664.
German patent DE 10 2006 023 298 discloses a method and an apparatus for lifting a topmost plastic sheet from a stack of sheets with suction heads. The suction heads are applied to the topmost sheet, vacuum is applied, and the topmost sheet is lifted off the stack.
DE 10 2006 060 361 discloses a conveying electrostatic gripper and a method for conveying a single flexible sheet from a support surface to a target form. A rolling body of the conveying gripper has a deactivatable attracting unit that pulls the sheet-like material toward a rolling surface of the rolling body. The sheet-like material taken up in this way is unrolled over the target form, the attracting unit being electrostatically deactivated in the region of the rolling body engaging the target form. To this end, an annular array of electrodes on the rolling gripper are activatable and/or deactivatable individually and independently of one another.
Similar displacing apparatuses for the insertion of intermediate layers in the automatic palletizing of piece goods are disclosed in DD 209 422 and DE 20 2006 018 017.
DE 20 2007 006 528 discloses a manipulator for flat objects. It has one or more manipulators that have each a multi-axial grab with a tool for taking up and releasing at least one flat object and having at least one rotatable material support that is configured as a winding former or as a flat object carrier for a plurality of flat objects. An articulated-arm robot, in particular having a robotic hand that is rotatable about multiple axes, is proposed as the grab. In one preferred embodiment, the handling tool has a movable turret for receiving and positioning a plurality of workpiece supports configured as winding formers for the winding and unwinding of at least one flat object. Suction units for fastening the web-like winding materials are provided on the workpiece support. Owing to the turret-like workpiece support, this apparatus is of a correspondingly voluminous construction if a plurality of flat objects are to be secured to its outer surface. It is, however, less suitable for two-dimensional flat objects.
Cavities of refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, or motor vehicles, are typically fitted with insulation mats to suppress sound created by vibration that is inevitable in the operation of such machines or vehicles. However, in the case of motor vehicles the particular problem arises that the insulation mats, which are to be adhesively bonded to walls that are correspondingly vibration-prone, are relatively large and can only be introduced with difficulty through existing window or door openings. Therefore, for a long time the adhesive bonding of the insulation mats has been carried out exclusively by hand. Automating this operation proves to be difficult on account of the required logistical effort and the required flexibility to produce different variants, the time periods for loading a multi-part gripper and also the required size of a robotic gripper. In many cases, the spatial conditions alone at the manual insertion stations do not permit automation. As a fallback solution, systems known as insulating compound injectors, which make the flexible, type-specific application of the insulation material under robot control possible, have been developed. Disadvantages are the high material input costs that are based on the raw materials and the high cost for service and maintenance of the robot-guided injectors.